Top Items:
Associated Press:
Feds investigate Christine O'Donnell spending — BALTIMORE — A person with knowledge of the investigation says federal authorities have opened a criminal probe of Delaware Republican Christine O'Donnell to determine if the former Senate candidate broke the law by using campaign money to pay personal expenses.
RELATED:
David Catanese / The Politico:
O'Donnell faces federal investigation — A top Delaware Republican confirms to POLITICO that former Republican Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell is under federal investigation for allegedly misusing campaign funds. — The Associated Press first reported Wednesday that O'Donnell …
Associated Press:
Feds probe Christine O'Donnell's campaign spending — BALTIMORE (AP) — Federal authorities have opened a criminal investigation of Delaware Republican Christine O'Donnell to determine if the former Senate candidate broke the law by using campaign money to pay personal expenses …
Discussion:
USA Today, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Wire, The Daily Caller, Guardian, AmSpecBlog and Truthdig
Suzi Parker / Politics Daily:
Report: Christine O'Donnell Under Federal Investigation for Campaign Spending
Devin Dwyer / ABCNEWS:
AP: Feds Investigating Christine O'Donnell
AP: Feds Investigating Christine O'Donnell
Discussion:
Slate, CNN, Outside the Beltway, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Daily Kos
Dylan Stableford / The Wrap:
Fox Utterly Destroys Cable News Ratings Competition in 2010 — The Nielsen numbers are in for 2010, and in the battle for cable news ratings supremacy, Fox News took the title for the ninth year in a row — bludgeoning the competition for another year. — The blowout comes on the heels …
Discussion:
Commentary, The Daily Dish and Doug Ross
WRAL-TV:
Lunchbox mix-up leads to charges for Sanford teen — SANFORD, N.C. — An athletic and academic standout in Lee County said a lunchbox mix-up has cut short her senior year of high school and might hurt her college opportunities. — Ashley Smithwick, 17, of Sanford, was suspended …
Discussion:
Instapundit, Pajamas Media, Don Surber, Lean Left, Hot Air, Right Wing News, Outside the Beltway and Joanne Jacobs
Floyd Abrams / Wall Street Journal:
Why WikiLeaks Is Unlike the Pentagon Papers — Everyone knows that Daniel Ellsberg leaked top-secret government documents about the Vietnam War. How many remember the ones he kept secret, or why? — In 1971, Daniel Ellsberg decided to make available to the New York Times …
RELATED:
Kevin Sack / New York Times:
Terrain Shifts in Challenges to the Health Care Law
Terrain Shifts in Challenges to the Health Care Law
Discussion:
The Volokh Conspiracy, Ezra Klein, Greg's Opinion and Law Blog
Alexander Mooney / CNN:
CNN Poll: Plurality say Obama's policies will likely fail — Washington (CNN) - President Barack Obama enters the new year with a growing number of Americans pessimistic about his policies and a growing number rooting for him to fail, according to a new national poll. — Full poll results [pdf]
Discussion:
Left Coast Rebel, Mediaite and The Gateway Pundit
RELATED:
Jennifer Epstein / The Politico:
Poll: Fewer Americans hope Obama's policies succeed
Poll: Fewer Americans hope Obama's policies succeed
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers and Scared Monkeys
Alexander Mooney / CNN:
Kucinich worries his district will be eliminated — (CNN) - The state of Ohio will lose two congressional seats thanks to the latest U.S. Census figures, and liberal stalwart Dennis Kucinich is worried his seat is on the chopping block. — In an e-mail to supporters Wednesday …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, Zandar Versus The Stupid, Scared Monkeys, Doug Ross and TPMDC
Patrick Doyle / Rolling Stone:
Exclusive: Merle Haggard on His Kennedy Center Honor, Meeting Obama and Oprah and More — The singer, who received a lifetime achievement award, takes us behind the scenes of Tuesday's broadcast — Merle Haggard is no stranger to the White House: He was a guest of both Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan …
Discussion:
Top of the Ticket, Lean Left and The Political Carnival
Glenn Davis / Mediaite:
Tucker Carlson: “I Think Personally [Michael Vick] Should Have Been Executed” — Tucker Carlson again filled in for Sean Hannity on Hannity tonight, and couldn't resist, as others already had, delving into the issue of President Obama praising Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie …
Discussion:
Hot Air, NewsReal Blog, theblogprof, Outside the Beltway and SportsGrid
RELATED:
Michael David Smith / ProFootballTalk:
Tucker Carlson: Michael Vick should have been executed
Tucker Carlson: Michael Vick should have been executed
Discussion:
Fanhouse NFL Blog, The Wire, Politics Daily, Vox Popoli, Bleacher Report, AOL News and Mediaite
The Business Insider:
GARY SHILLING: And Now House Prices Will Now Drop Another 20% — In October, Gary Shilling of A. Gary Shilling & Co., predicted that house prices would fall another 20%. — In the two months since, house prices have resumed their decline. Below, Gary outlines why he thinks the recent drops are just the beginning.
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, Felix Salmon and Ezra Klein
David S. Bernstein / thephoenix.com:
The Road to 2012: The New New Hampshire — Mitt Romney and the rest of the GOP field are about to find a whole new set of players standing between them and first-in-the-nation primary victory — For Mitt Romney and other likely presidential contenders, 2011 will be a busy year of campaigning …
Discussion:
Weigel, Hot Air, Talking Politics and Booman Tribune
Ryan J. Reilly / TPMMuckraker:
Megyn Kelly: Calling Aliens ‘Undocumented’ Like Calling Rape ‘Non-Consensual Sex’ (VIDEO) — Plenty of conservatives are pretty upset over a campaign by the Society of Professional Journalists to convince reporters to stop using the terms “illegal aliens” and “illegal immigrants” in favor of “undocumented immigrant.”
Discussion:
Big Journalism and Washington Monthly
Dave Cohen / Decline of the Empire:
The Afghan War, Terrorism And Media Propaganda — As 2010 winds down, I am reminded that there is no Imperial policy more reprehensible and shameful than the war in Afghanistan. This war is constantly presented to Americans as an integral part of the War On Terrorism, but it is no such thing.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice
Charlotte Hays / National Review:
Mother Nature vs. Nanny — The blizzard is definitely a force for conservatism, and not only because it has had the global-warming crowd scrambling for explanations. The blizzard reveals something basic: Liberals in government want to tell us what to eat, counsel us about how and when to die …
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog, Power Line and Firedoglake
RELATED:
Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Obama uses recess appointment to seat Justice Dept. official — President Obama used a recess appointment Wednesday to name James Cole as deputy attorney general. — The president also recess appointed five other officials, including four ambassadors. — Cole's nomination …
Discussion:
Political Punch and CNN
Gary Bauer / Human Events:
If Christians Were Treated Like Muslims — Few Americans would deny that Judeo-Christian beliefs and values informed the Founding of this country and that they continue to shape much of American life today. Nor would many of us deny that Americans who embrace Islamic values are a distinct minority here.
Discussion:
Liberal Values, Firedoglake, Babalú Blog, The Mahablog, Weasel Zippers, Booman Tribune and The Jawa Report
David Weigel / Weigel:
House Republicans Could End Lame Duck Sessions — Little-noticed over the holiday week: Rep. Lynn Jenkins tweeting this promise. … Jenkins linked to a story by David Farenthold explaining that the 20th amendment was supposed to end lame duck sessions by truncating the life of expired Congresses …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, The Plum Line, Washington Monthly and slacktivist
The Huffington Post:
The Poorhouse: Aunt Winnie, Glenn Beck, And The Politics Of The New Deal — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? … An employee of Associated Charities, a private organization dedicated to alleviating poverty in the District of Columbia, met an old black woman carrying a basket of cinders near the dump …
Discussion:
Firedoglake and Hullabaloo
Alexander Mooney / CNN:
Top NRSC official: Several Senate Dems up in '12 in ‘serious trouble’ — Washington (CNN) - The number two man at the National Republican Senatorial Committee says he thinks several Democratic senators facing re-elections in 2012 are in “serious trouble.” — But NRSC Executive Director Rob Jesmer …
RELATED:
Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Republican campaign committee names top 2012 Senate targets
Republican campaign committee names top 2012 Senate targets
Discussion:
CNN
Judy Battista / New York Times:
Favre Is Fined $50,000 but Not Suspended — Brett Favre, the Minnesota Vikings quarterback whose 20-year career is likely to end after this weekend, was fined $50,000 by the National Football League Wednesday for failing to cooperate with the league's investigation into graphic photos …
Discussion:
Gothamist, Bleacher Report and Fanhouse NFL Blog